Lauren RabainoCan comedy save Americans from stupidity? Maybe.
This time last year I was studying in Florence, Italy. Of all of the differences I noticed, one that really stuck with me as a journalism student was a European’s impressive knowledge of current affairs, especially those of the United States. Coming home I realized how little Americans know about the world around them and what is making news headlines.
Readership is down for newspapers and major publications are suffering from huge employee cutbacks. Granted, much of this has to do with the growing popularity of news retrieval via the internet, but the obvious remains: the American public is losing sight of current affairs, even those that affect them.
A recent Pew Research Center study released in February revealed that Americans today know less about current events than they did in 1989. The survey questioned 1,502 adults and had them answer 23 questions. Of the respondents, only eight answered all correctly and the average number of correct answers was 12.
Other than a general lack of knowledge, the survey also revealed information regarding how people receive their news. Half of the people who scored the highest on the questionnaire said they found their news through a minimum of seven outlets a day. Of those outlets, “The Daily Show” and ‘The Colbert Report” tied for first with major print publications and Web sites.
Even more astounding, the survey revealed that loyal viewers of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s satirical news programs seemed to know the most about what was going on in the world.
Those who knew the least watched morning news programs, local television and Fox news.
It seems that comedy is making a deeper impact than ever expected, even in the world of the 24-hour news stations and the Internet. Stewart, Colbert and others are the new anchors, and people, especially young adults, are tuning in.
To take it a step further, Stewart’s hugely popular book, “America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction,” has recently become a required course textbook for a political science class at Northern Kentucky University. The professor who assigned the text believed it would be one of few textbooks students would actually read. Formatted like a high school history book, “America” is roughly 90 percent factual and 10 percent satire. According to the professor contains much of the same information found in a legitimate textbook.
As much as I appreciate the humor that comedians like Colbert and Stewart bring to current events, as a journalism student, I cannot help but wonder if this is OK. Should influential celebrities with open political and social bias be the gatekeepers for their viewers?
To argue on their behalf, Stewart and Colbert are solely providing commentary to news they believe the public already has knowledge of. In addition, anyone watching these programs understands they are based on satire and humor – I would hope. If viewers gain some insight from watching the programs, then more power to them.
However, the figures are still troubling. The fact Americans are not taking an invested interest in what is happening in the world is something that should be a concern for us. How are we supposed to develop into successful people and societies if we do not inform ourselves? Apparently through comedy.
Taylor Moore is a journalism senior and a Mustang Daily columnist.